This invention relates in general to the field of position measurement in a three-dimensional workspace and more particularly to an improved system and method of providing position-related information.
A variety of endeavors require or are greatly aided by the ability to make a precise determination of position within a three-dimensional workspace. For example, laying out a construction site according to a blueprint requires the identification at the actual construction site of a number of actual positions that correspond to features of the building on the blueprint.
Despite the many applications which require or are advanced by the ability to make precise determinations of position, it has historically been relatively difficult or expensive to precisely fix the position of any given point relative to an origin in an actual three-dimensional workspace.
A variety of techniques are known in the art to measure position, including land surveying techniques and global positioning satellite (xe2x80x9cGPSxe2x80x9d) system techniques. However, these techniques generally are not precise or require expensive devices which are complex and difficult to manufacture with high precision and accuracy. Additionally, many of these techniques required extensive training, and therefore cannot be practiced by those not trained in the art. Land surveying techniques, for example, fix position using a precision instrument known as a theodolite. The theodolite is both an expensive piece of equipment and requires substantial training to use. GPS equipment is relatively easy to use, but can be expensive and has limited accuracy on a small scale due to a certain amount of intentional error that is introduced by the military operators of GPS satellites.
Consequently, there has long been a need in the art for a method and device that can quickly and accurately fix positions in a three-dimensional workspace. There is a further need in the art for such a method and device which is easy to use and does not require extensive training.
Accordingly, the present invention is directed to an improved position measurement system, comprising at least one optical transmitter positioned within a position measurement field to generate a pair of planar light beams and a strobe pulse to illuminate said measurement field, at least one selectively positionable receiver within said position measurement field to generate position measurement data in response to said illumination from said planar beams and said strobe pulse, and calibration logic associated with said light detector receiver for executing a quadratic mathematical algorithm to uniquely characterize said planar beams of each of said optical transmitters active in said measurement field.
The invention is also directed to a position measurement system which includes an optical transmitter for generating a pair of spaced apart planar light beams and a periodic strobe pulse and a selectively positionable detector having at least two spaced apart optical detectors wherein said transmitter and detector are positioned in a measurement field, where the improvement comprises means to continuously monitor and calculate a pulse width of said beams, means to characterize said planar beams using a quadratic mathematical algorithm, wherein a range distance from said transmitter position to said detector position is estimated based on the pulse width and the quadratic mathematical algorithm, and means to display said estimated range to a user.
The invention is further directed to a receiver for an improved position measurement system having at least one optical transmitter positioned within a position measurement field that generates a pair of planar light beams and a strobe pulse to illuminate the position measurement field, the receiver comprising a data generator for generating position measurement data in response to illumination of the receiver from said planar beams and said strobe pulse and calibration logic associated with the receiver for executing a quadratic mathematical algorithm to uniquely characterize said planar beams of each of said optical transmitters active in said measurement field.